I had a week long business trip to Shanghai in the High Tech area which is about 40-minutes from the more fun and touristy area of the Bund. At the end of the week I moved hotels to the Bund and spent the weekend exploring the city before flying home.
I was able to use some of my SPG points to book the Le Meridien which was fine, but definitely in need of a remodel. At least the view from the room was good.
The hotel was a bit further in from the river than would've been ideal, but the redemption was cheap so it was a small price to pay for a 10-minute walk to the river, plus it was through the shopping drag.
Heading down towards the river from the hotel when some rain started coming down.
After hiding out in stores until the rain died down, got to the river and grabbed lunch, it was really cool to watch the clouds cover the taller buildings.
That evening, went to the world famous Da Dong, a 1-star Michelin restaurant dedicated to Peking Duck. With that being said, I can't believe they have a Michelin star because the service was absolutely appalling. I go to China regularly and know how the cultural differences with dining, but this was not that, this was just outright poor service. Luckily the food was excellent.
After waiting almost 2-hours after finally getting our order in, a cart with a beautiful Peking duck arrived.
The accoutrements including melon, Hoisin sauce and sugar.
And the beautiful sliced duck and crispy skin. I forgot to get a picture of the full wrapper with the duck and condiments, but it was amazing. The skin was truly unlike anything I'd had before, it was simultaneously crispy and rich, yet airy at the same time.
Also some eggplant that was incredibly flavorful and was the perfect side dish.
After dinner, I went back to the river area and found a great bar called The Long Bar at the Waldorf Astoria.
The Waldorf Astoria lobby.
Then with the rain having stopped, it provided for some amazing views of the Bund.
Trying to get a little artsy...
View across the river to the Pudong side.
Panoramic
View of the Bund buildings, spectacularly illuminated at night.
Then headed back to my hotel to call it a night.
The next morning was a hot and humid day, but decided to go explore some of the more "adventurous" shopping with plenty of knock off watches and see what those type of shops look like in Shanghai.
Literally they have an entire mall for not brand name goods.
Something tells me this wouldn't be MsFlamingo approved...
The headed to try and check out museums, but the lines were so long that it wasn't worth wasting hours standing in line. Hopefully in the future I'll be able to check them out when the lines aren't as long for National Day.
A lovely park in the city.
Time to get some XLB for lunch.
While tasty, Din Tai Fung still wins and is my all time favorite XLB with thinner wrappers and tastier soup.
I wonder what customs would think if I tried to bring this back...
Some bubble tea to cool off.
Then back to my hotel to do a little work and get ready for dinner.
For dinner headed to L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon which you can check out in this post.
The next morning woke up and headed down to join the massive crowds down the main shopping street.
Then a spontaneous downpour and I ducked into a store since I didn't bring an umbrella.
After the rain died down, I headed to a cafe to have some tea and watch the enormous crowds walk by.
After some tea and a snack, I headed down to the river to check it out during the day.
A very cool skyline, but at night is when it becomes unbelievably spectacular with the lights.
After roaming for a while, I headed back to my hotel to get ready for dinner.
For my last night in Shanghai I decided to go back to L'Atelier, you can see that meal in the post here.
After another wonderful meal at L'Atelier, I headed upstairs to Bar Rouge.
I can imagine how this could get a bit rowdy on weekends, but luckily not crowded and was perfect to enjoy a Manhattan and enjoy the skyline.
After enjoying the view and cocktail, I headed back to The Long Bar to enjoy the live music and more cocktails. A fantastic live Jazz group entertained the crowd and it was a perfect way to cap off the weekend before heading home.
A wonderful cocktail called the Shanghai Club had goji berries, gin and egg white - definitely try it. Perfect end to the evening.
The next morning before heading to the airport, I headed out to get fried XLB at the recommendation of the Robuchon staff. Once you order, you go to a window and the chef cooks them up and gives you some.
Look at those!
They were absolutely amazing and perfect before starting the journey home.
I headed back to the hotel to finish packing and start the journey home. Shanghai is a great city and I've been lucky to travel for work several times, but was glad I could take a couple extra days to check out the tourist side and have a couple good meals. Would definitely recommend going if you have the chance, and if you travel for work, take a couple extra days before heading home.
Trip links:
- Shanghai
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